Not A Bubblegum Girl
by Stars of Gold
Summary: Hotaru will not tolerate both Natsume and Ruka liking Mikan at the same time. So she's come up with a plan to make Ruka fall out of love with Mikan and in love with someone else. Unfortunately, that someone else is her. Rukaru NatsuMikan On hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

Not A Bubblegum Girl

By

Stars of Gold

Inspired by Bubblegum Girl by ilovewho, I wrote this little story. Let's get cracking!

* * *

Bubblegum (adj., usually referring to a girl) – Girls who dream about fairy tales, prince charmings, happy endings and finding their true love. Bubblegum Girls also tend to be very optimistic and selfless, but they are, essentially, stupid. (See also: Fangirls)

* * *

Chapter 1

Imai Hotaru had long decided that Hyuuga Natsume, unlike his best friend Nogi Ruka, would never ever fall for a bubblegum girl.

Unfortunately for her assumptions, Hyuuga Natsume, just like his best friend Nogi Ruka, had fallen for a bubblegum girl. Not just any bubblegum girl, though. The same bubblegum girl.

Now, Imai Hotaru normally wouldn't really mind if the two boys fought just because of a bubblegum girl – after all, bubblegum girls are very stupid. But, unfortunately, this particular bubblegum girl was her own best friend, and although Sakura Mikan is quite stupid, she is still Imai Hotaru's best friend, and, knowing Sakura Mikan, she would eventually find out and stress over which of the boys to choose. She would then proceed to pester Imai Hotaru to tell her which of the boys she should choose, therefore bothering Imai Hotaru.

Hence, Imai Hotaru was going to make one of the boys fall out of love with Sakura Mikan and instead fall in love with someone else.

Imai Hotaru decided to choose Nogi Ruka as her intended target, seeing as his family was not, unlike Hyuuga Natsume, killed by his very own Alice, and therefore had suffered less than his childhood friend.

Unfortunately, there was a slight flaw in her plan, and Imai Hotaru could see it. She would have to find someone for Nogi Ruka to fall in love with.

Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, since more than half of the Middle School Department (and even some from the High School Department) would gladly become the guinea pig in this particular experiment, mostly because Nogi Ruka was, Imai Hotaru grudgingly admitted, very good looking. But Imai Hotaru took into account the craziness of his fangirls and rightfully decided that the girls could poke a hole in her plan, even possibly exposing it.

Unfortunately, that left Imai Hotaru with one choice: herself.

Reviews appreciated!

Stars of Gold


	2. Chapter 2

Not A Bubblegum Girl

By

Stars of Gold

DISCLAIMER: Alice Academy is not my property, no matter how much I want an Alice. Sigh.

Chapter 2

Hotaru sighed as she looked down at herself. Today was Casual Friday, as it was every week at High School Class B, and she decided that today would be the day she would put her plan in motion.

Hence, she was wearing a sleeveless lilac turtleneck and a dark purple miniskirt, along with a thin white belt hanging off her hip and a pair of strappy white high-heeled sandals. After applying a bit of make-up on her face, she gave the whole ensemble a once over and decided that it was adequate.

Stepping out of her room, she noticed a strange lack of "NATSUME NO HENTAI!"s this particular morning, and decided that Mikan probably wore pants today instead of the short school skirt.

The minute she entered the classroom, everybody fell silent, and the only noise was the soft tapping of her shoes against the tiled floor.

And then, the silence was broken.

"Ohayo, Hotaru!" A cheery Mikan entered the room, grinning. "Ah, Hotaru, you're wearing those clothes! I remember, they were a gift from your cousin, weren't they?"

Hotaru wordlessly eyed her as if she was a disgusting worm about to approach her. "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot." Mikan ran towards Hotaru, arms outstretched, prepared to give the inventor a big hug, all the while screaming, "Hotaruuuuuuu!"

Everybody awaited the loud BAKA of the bazooka ever present on Hotaru's shoulder, but it never came. The whole class was confused. "Ehh, Imai-san, you didn't use your Baka Gun today?"s and "Are you feeling all right, Imai-san?"s were echoed throughout the class.

All the questions stopped abruptly when Hotaru shoved Mikan away and sat down in her seat just as their teacher walked in.

"Ah, class, nice to see you this Casual Friday morning! Imai-san, I'm very pleased that you're finally taking part in our weekly event. Now, class, please pair up with your partners and pick a table, because we're going to do a few partner projects!"

Coincidentally, Hotaru's partner was none other than Nogi Ruka himself, so she stood and sashayed over to him. This simple act, though normal for fangirls, was quite unusual for one as dignified as Imai Hotaru, so many people assumed that she'd finally chosen to flaunt her good looks (no doubt in an attempt to execute some sort of evil scheme) and test it upon her favorite guinea pig, aka Nogi Ruka. Though this line of reasoning might sound a bit far-fetched to you, it certainly wasn't impossible when dealing with Imai Hotaru.

Hotaru pulled Ruka up by the wrist gently and led him over to a table near the window. Ruka, gaping, followed like a dog, not even noticing when they'd reached their destination.

Hotaru shot him a small, amused smile, and he suddenly felt very self-conscious. Noticing that she was sitting and he wasn't, he plunked into the seat next to hers, inching away from the girl who had apparently taken the wrong medicine this morning.

Ruka tried to keep focused on the teacher, but his eyes kept straying to the beauty beside him. The aforementioned beauty, as always, kept her smile of triumph to herself.

At the end of the lesson, the teacher informed them that all of their teachers would be giving out partnered assignments, so they needn't change their places. Ruka gulped nervously as almost every male in the room turned to glare death at him.

"Ruka-kun?" Hotaru's voice, now soft and gentle instead of cold and emotionless, sounded pleasant, and Ruka unintentionally blushed. "Y-Yes?"

"I lost my eraser. Could I borrow yours?"

"Uh, s-sure. H-Here you go," Ruka stammered.

Hotaru smiled gently, much to his confusion. "Thank you, Ruka-kun. That's very kind of you." Turning her gaze away from him, she began to erase some notes on her exercise book.

--

Unbeknownst to either of them, one very amused fire-caster was watching them, a smirk present on his face. "Hey, Polka Dots," he said coolly. "Natsume! How many times have I told you not to call me that?" Mikan whined. His smirk grew bigger. "Many. But that's not the point. Look," he nodded his head towards Hotaru and Ruka.

"Hotaru and Ruka-pyon? What? What's different?"

Natsume sighed. "Always dense," he said, mostly to himself. "Never mind, Polka Dots. Just remind me what the teacher told us to do."

"Ah! Right, we have the History project to do…"

--

Hotaru leaned over to see what Ruka had written down. "Ah! Ano, Imai-san, wh-what are you d-doing?" Hotaru looked at him innocently. "I can't hear the teacher, Ruka-kun. I was wondering if I could peek over at your notes."

"O-Oh, well, in that case, you should've just asked me, Imai-san, instead of scaring me like that. Here," he said, pushing his notes towards her slightly, while still continuing to write. "Thank you, Ruka-kun," she said. Ruka blushed and stammered out, "N-No problem."

Silence descended upon them as they were given a task by the teacher, which extended as they worked on the aforementioned task.

"…Imai?"

"Hotaru."

"Er, r-right, Hotaru-san… er, why…why are you being so…nice?"

Hotaru looked at him with a hurt look on her face. "You…don't want me to be nice to you?"

Ruka was alarmed. "No! I mean, no, it's just that you're usually not this nice to me."

Hotaru smiled prettily, and Ruka blushed furiously. "Maybe I've had a change of heart, Ruka-kun," she said, looking positively angelic. "Y-Yeah. But wh-why?"

"Mysterious reasons," she replied, shooting him a mysterious and yet somewhat seductive smile. Ruka blushed yet again, and decided not to pursue the subject, lest he embarrass himself in front of this beautiful creature any further.

--

Alright, this is Phase One of Hotaru's plan. In response to a review I received, Hotaru does want Ruka to fall in love with her (though she doesn't know it, her subconscious does) and so devised this somewhat interesting plan.

What she doesn't know is how Ruka feels in the first place. She assumes that he loves Mikan, but this isn't necessarily true...

Muahahahahahahahaha!

Reviews are appreciated.

Stars of Gold


	3. Chapter 3

Not A Bubblegum Girl

by

Stars of Gold

DISCLAIMER: Alice Academy does not belong to me, sadly. Otherwise, you'd see so much more fluff and Ruka/Hotaru hints.

* * *

Chapter 3

"NATSUME!" The screech was heard clearly, even on the other side of the Middle School campus.

Ruka sighed, rolling his eyes as he watched Hotaru work in her lab.

Why was he in her lab, exactly? Well, contrary to popular belief, he was only there for their partner Chemistry project.

Claiming that no one would be able to copy their work that way, Hotaru had led him in, without even collecting a fee or taking a picture to make money out of. It was very, very, very unlike the purple-eyed inventor, and Ruka couldn't help thinking that Hotaru had lost her marbles.

"Ruka-kun, I've lost my marbles. Could you help me find them?"

Speak of the devil. Ruka jumped, having been jerked out of his thoughts, and stared at her in confusion. "You've…lost your marbles…?" he asked, utterly befuddled.

Hotaru laughed softly, much to Ruka's surprise and confusion. Her laugh was rare, and Ruka vowed to remember it for the rest of his days. "I've literally lost my marbles, not that I'm insane," she said, still smiling at him. He couldn't help blushing, and quickly bent down to pick up a marble, saying, "Oh."

The marbles were needed for the experiment in the Chemistry project. Therefore, the two stupidly scrambled around the lab, looking high and low for each and every elusive marble, instead of just going to Central Town and buying another packet. Actually, Hotaru had this planned, and Ruka was simply too flustered by Hotaru's sudden personality change, so they can both be excused from overlooking such a simple solution.

As they searched, Ruka's mind wandered to the subject of Imai Hotaru. He immediately blushed. He didn't know when he'd first started to like her instead of Sakura Mikan. Maybe it was when she comforted him (though she didn't know it) after harshly revealing that Mikan liked Natsume, not him. She'd shrugged and said, "Life's a bitch, but you're tough, you'll handle it."

He was surprised, looking at her incredulously. She snapped a photo immediately, and added, "Besides, if you don't live, I don't make money out of your photos."

Ruka had sighed and shot her a weary smile. "At least Imai will always be Imai, huh?" She smirked, saying, "That's right, I'll always be blackmailing you from every corner." After snapping a photo, she walked away.

All Ruka knew was that he suddenly found himself staring at her one day, daydreaming, until Natsume elbowed him, even making some sort of noise that sounded like a laugh. "Shut up," Ruka had murmured, blushing a flaming red.

And that was the day Ruka found out that he had fallen for Imai Hotaru.

Hook, line and sinker.

Ruka shook his head to clear his thoughts and continued to search for those damn marbles.

When they had finally found every single one of those marbles, Ruka paused suddenly. "Wait…we could've just gone to Central Town to get another packet instead of scrambling around like morons." He said, coming to a realization.

Hotaru laughed, girlishly soft, once more, and Ruka raised an eyebrow at her. "The look on your face is funny," she defended. Ruka frowned, looking at her weirdly. Imai Hotaru never said the word 'funny', unless she was referring to other peoples' misfortune.

But then again, Imai Hotaru never smiled warmly nor laughed either.

Freaky.

But Ruka decided to take it as a blessing, and treated her like he would a normal human being, rolling his eyes good-naturedly and saying, "Ha ha, real funny," sarcastically.

She stopped laughing after a while and continued with the project, ordering the clueless Ruka to do various things to assist her.

"Um, Ruka-kun, I've told you a few times already, but would you please drop the marbles in? It's not exactly the hardest thing to do."

Ruka snorted. "It is when you're bending over a teenage girl, not to mention a dozen inventions that look like animals. What is it with you and inventing animal-based stuff, anyway?"

Hotaru shrugged nonchalantly. "Just drop the marbles in, please, Ruka-_pyon_," she said, acting a lot like Mikan in the process. Ruka shot her another weird look, then reached over her shoulder and dropped the marbles, one by one, into the test tube.

Hotaru unintentionally turned a light shade of pink, breathing in the smell of clean soap and animal fur. "There, Hotaru-_hime_," he said, rolling his eyes playfully.

"Arigato, Ruka-pyon!" she said cheerily, in an exact imitation of Mikan. "Okay, now you're freaking me out. First you dress up on Casual Friday for once, then you start being nice to me, and now you're acting like Sakura. What the hell is _wrong_ with you?"

Hotaru blinked at him, using her big eyes to her advantage, trying her best to look hurt (it wasn't as hard as she made it out to be). Sure enough, Ruka blushed profusely, then looked away. "S-Sorry. I didn't mean that there's something w-wrong with you, I just…" he sighed. "You're just acting different, that's all."

"I thought you _liked_ bubblegum girls."

"…_Bubblegum girls_? What do you mean?"

"Girls who dream about fairy tales, prince charmings, happy endings and finding their true love. They're also optimistic and selfless, but are, essentially, stupid." She quoted directly from the dictionary. "No offense, Ruka-pyon, but Mikan clearly falls into this category."

"None taken, and the heart wants what it wants, so, sorry, but bubblegum girl or not, I love who I love, no changing that. And stop calling me Ruka-pyon, it's weird."

"No."

"Geez. I guess Imai really will always be Imai." He paused. "Albeit a slight change in personality. But I like your more open side, you're…well…more open about your feelings."

"Thank you. Um, it's getting late, we should get going." Hotaru quickly shoved Ruka out the door and followed suit, locking up the lab behind her. "O…kay…Well, um, Hotaru-san, we should get to dinner. You know they won't give any to latecomers."

"I'm not hungry."

"Oh." For some reason, Ruka's voice sounded a tiny bit disappointed. "Okay, then, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye."

"Bye."

And then they left in opposite directions.

--

Once safely in her room, Hotaru closed the door and sank down onto the floor. "What's wrong with me…?" she whispered to herself, utterly confused.

The genius Imai Hotaru had to admit that she had felt…odd when Ruka reached over her shoulder. Like…butterflies. In her stomach.

Now, Hotaru was no genius when it came to love, but she'd seen enough chick flicks (Mikan made her go, it was pure torture) to realize that that particular feeling was not good for her plan. Such feelings would get in the way of her scheme and she would end up listening to her best friend stress. Mikan stressing is not good for Hotaru, because it severely damages her concentration, and she really didn't need that.

Suddenly, there was a knock on her door.

"What do you want?" she asked bitterly, willing the person to just leave her alone.

"Imai. It's me, I brought you food, now let me in."

Ah. Hyuuga Natsume. Why would he be visiting Hotaru at all, let alone bringing food? Suspicion was immediately aroused, but unfortunately, suspicion gave in to hunger. Hotaru really had been hungry, but she didn't want to have to spend more time with Ruka before sorting her feelings out.

She opened the door. "What do you want, Hyuuga?" she asked, taking the plate of food from her. "Let me in. We're talking about Ruka. Now." Shrugging and deciding that he wouldn't hurt her if he didn't want Mikan on his case, she obliged, sitting down on her bed with the plate of food as he closed the door behind him.

"Listen, Imai," he began coldly, exactly as she'd expected him to. "I don't know where you're going with this shit, but if it involves hurting Ruka, I swear I will stop it."

Hotaru faced him coolly, seeming every inch like the normal Hotaru. "Don't worry about it, Hyuuga, I'm having doubts myself." He raised an eyebrow.

The two of them had a strange friendship. Mostly they interacted if he wanted to get Mikan something nice. With his allowance, plus the extra he got from completing missions, he was able to meet her exorbitant fees without even batting an eyelid.

Eventually, they managed to strike up conversations here and there, and soon, the two had developed a funny, kind of isolated sort of friendship. He knew when she didn't want to talk about something, and vice versa. They didn't know much about each other, but they knew so much about the other's habits and body language that it wasn't necessary for them to know anything about one another to communicate well.

"Doubts, Imai? What's your plan? What doubts are you talking about?"

She met his gaze, for once a vulnerable girl instead of a strong robot. "I had a plan. I had a plan to help you, him and Mikan. It's backfiring on me, Hyuuga. I don't know what I'm feeling right now, but it's mostly a lot of confusion."

Natsume understood her feelings to an extent. "Try hitting your head on the table." He suggested. She looked at him, a deadpan expression gracing her features. He shrugged. "Worked for me. Drinking hot chocolate or eating ice cream works, too; but knowing you, I think you'd rather have crab roe or some other crap like that."

Hotaru nodded once. "Thank you for the food."

"Hn." He turned to leave, but paused suddenly. "Imai."

"What?"

"Be careful. Whatever your plan is, don't take it too far. I don't think…I don't think Ruka can handle his heart getting broken again." His ruby red eyes glinted. "And I don't think you should go through that, either."

And then he left.

* * *

A/N: Yeah, about the whole Ruka flashback thing, although Hotaru showed him the bitter truth, she thought that he was still crushing on Mikan, hoping for a chance to win her heart. -sweatdrop- Hotaru's a bit dense when it comes to matters of the heart.

Anyway, I like the idea of Natsume being all protective of Hotaru, just like an older brother or something. No, this isn't going to turn into Natsume/Hotaru – Natsume's possessiveness only applies to Mikan.

Reviews appreciated!

Till next time,

Stars of Gold


	4. Chapter 4

Not A Bubblegum Girl

by

Stars of Gold

DISCLAIMER: Yeah. Alice Academy is not my property. It's actually quite tragic.

* * *

Chapter 4

The morning brought a sort of calm for Hotaru. Her dream was a warm, pleasant one, but she couldn't remember what it was. All she remembered was the feel of grass as she sat on it and the warmth of a strangely familiar bunny in her arms.

Shaking her head (what bunny did she know, anyway?), she got up and got dressed for school.

Walking out of the door and walking to class, she breathed in the fresh smell of the early morning. As she neared the class, she heard, from somewhere a distance away, a loud screech of, "NATSUME NO HENTAI!" and concluded that Mikan had not, in fact, woken up late again.

She stepped into the classroom and took her seat. Ruka had not arrived at class yet, and she assumed that he was with Natsume, who was undoubtedly with, or at least near, Mikan.

"Hey."

Once again, she was proven wrong. The blonde boy slid into the seat next to hers and grinned. "So did you sleep well?" he asked cheerily. "Yes, thanks," she replied, pulling out what seemed to be a small cube.

"What's that?"

"Invention No. 192, Storing Cube. It changes the molecular size of every object placed in it to fit snugly even when it shrinks to the size of a dice." She pressed a small button on the side of the cube, and one wall of the cube disappeared.

Instructing Ruka to hold the cube for her, she reached in with a hand, which she somehow managed to fit into the cube. "Aha." She slowly pulled out their Chemistry project from the day before and placed it on the desk.

"Wow. Cool. But I thought we hadn't finished that project yet," he commented, looking confused. Hotaru took the cube from him and pressed the button once more. "All we need is sodium chloride."

"Salt?"

"Not just any salt, though. We need special Alice salt."

"Oh. Okay, so we just have to get some from Ayashi-sensei, then we're done?"

"Yes."

"Cool. Then we can get started on – "

Ruka was cut off by the loud greeting originating from the obscenely cheery girl who had just entered the classroom. "Good morning, everyone!" Mikan called energetically. Hotaru winced at her shrill voice, and was relieved when the next voice she heard was much deeper. "Polka Dots, if you keep greeting the class like this, we'll all go deaf."

"NATSUME NO BAKA!"

The two continued to bicker all the way to their seats at the back of the class. The class didn't even notice; it was normal and almost comforting. Later on in life, each member of Class B would be unable to wake up properly to work without hearing relentless bickering, which was an amusing yet sad side effect of this routine.

At this point, Ayashi-sensei walked in. "Good morning, class! How are you all on this bright and happy Saturday morning?" Ayashi, who had a reputation of being a female version of Jinno (earning her the nickname 'Ayakashi', meaning bad spirit in Japanese), was unusually cheerful. The whole class was very confused.

--

"Is there something going on in the labs or something?" Sumire muttered angrily. "First Imai, now our Chemistry teacher?" Her partner, who was, unfortunately, Tobita Yuu, shrugged. "Maybe they've had a change of heart, Shouda-san." Sumire glared at him. "Who asked your opinion, dumbbell?" she snarled. Yuu smiled nervously and backed away, apologizing and shutting his mouth.

--

"Now class, I'm sure you're all wondering why I'm so happy today. Well, the thing is that…well…I'm getting married!"

"EHH?" The class voiced their disbelief in chorus. "To whom, sensei?" someone asked.

"Uh…well…I'm sure you know him… He's a teacher at this school, in fact…" Their usually stoic and unmerciful teacher seemed to blush. Yuu twitched as he imagined Hotaru acting this way.

"Really? Is it Jinno?" Mikan wondered out loud. A little too loud, unfortunately. Ayashi glared at the brunette. "HOW DARE YOU IMPLY THAT I, A PERFECTLY NICE TEACHER WOULD END UP WITH A MONSTER LIKE HIM?"

The class sweatdropped as they imagined Jinno and Ayashi getting married.

--

"_Oh, Jinno, once we're married, we can torture children together!"_

_"Oh, Ayashi, I admire your idea! I will torture children with you no matter what it takes!"_

--

As one, everybody shuddered. Koko even began to twitch and glance around nervously, as if expecting the vision to come to life (but I'm sure that everyone can sympathize with him – experiencing the horrendous visions of Class B as well as his own cannot be a picnic).

Amidst all this panic, Hotaru raised an arm, a slight smile on her face. "Sensei, is it Narumi-sensei you're talking about?"

Immediately, all heads turned to her. Koko tapped his chin. No wonder in one of the visions he'd seen, there was one where it wasn't Jinno, but Narumi instead. He began to twitch even more violently than before as he relived that particular memory. Oh, the horror…

"Ah, Imai! Bright as always…" Ayashi complimented, beaming at her second favorite student (the first being Nonoko). "Though I can't say much about your friend over there," she hissed, glaring at Mikan. Feeling the crimson eyes of a certain Black Cat burning into her skin, she looked away lest her beautiful brown locks be burnt off before her wedding.

"You're getting married to Narumi?" Serina-sensei, who had been walking by, repeated, her eyes widening. "Yeah, got a problem with that, bitch?" Ayashi snarled at her readily. Serina seemed close to tears. "N-No, Ayashi-san, I…won't bother your class…" she sniffed. Ayashi sneered at her. "Come on, you little whore, come here and fight me!"

Ayashi dragged the blonde woman into the classroom and shut the door behind her. "Now, children," Ayashi began in an ominous tone. "This is how you murder an English teacher!" Lunging towards the younger and frightened out of her mind woman, she pulled a sword out of nowhere – only to have it disappear into a shimmer of blue sparkles.

It was then that everyone realized that Mikan, at the back of the class, had yelled out in defiant protest and nullified Ayashi's Alice so that she couldn't make objects such as deadly katanas. "Stop fighting!"

Unfortunately, the crazed teacher paid her no mind and continued to advance upon Serina. "Die, evil bitch," Ayashi hissed as she lunged…

…Only to be blasted into the blackboard as Hotaru put her Baka Bazooka Version 2.0 to use.

"Kids, run!" Serina shouted as she was handed Hotaru's Baka Bazooka.

Natsume stood suddenly and ordered everyone to 'don't just stand there, get out of the damn classroom before the crazy bitch wakes up', urging everyone to run faster with the occasional flame here and there.

--

"NARUMI-SENSEI, AYASHI-SENSEI IS TRYING TO KILL SERINA-SENSEI IN OUR CLASSROOM!" Mikan yelled as the whole class stampeded past the staff room.

Narumi's eyes widened. How did she get out of the hospital, damn it? He was immediately transported to High School Class B and took in the sight of Serina and Ayashi. "Ayashi-san, come here," he said, trying to coax her into coming towards him. "Ah, Naru-chaaaan, tell her off!" Ayashi pouted very uncutely, obviously thinking that it was, in fact, very cute.

"Now, now, Ayashi-san, just come here…We don't want Serina to hurt you…" Ayashi obliged, sticking her tongue out at Serina. Suddenly, Narumi grabbed Ayashi's arms firmly and blew into her face. "Listen to me, Ayashi…You will go to sleep."

Ayashi obliged – not that she had any choice, anyway.

"Serina, are you okay?" Narumi asked. "I-I'm fine. You should be more worried about your…f-f-fiancee…" Serina replied, tears in her eyes.

"Fiancee? Oh. Right. That." He cleared his throat nervously. "Well, you see…"

--

Meanwhile, High School Class B was sighing in relief as they rested on Piyo, the giant chick. "Arigato, Ruka-pyon, for getting the chick to come out and treat us so warmly! It brings back great memories!" No, this was not Hotaru speaking like a bubblegum girl. It was a real bubblegum girl this time – Mikan, actually.

"Ah, no, it was no problem at all," Ruka replied modestly. Hotaru snorted. "No problem my ass," she muttered to herself. Ruka raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, Hotaru-san?"

She met his gaze, saying, "You use more energy to attract larger animals. Back when Mikan first came around, you helped us in the forest, but that wasn't hard because the chick was already right there in front of you. But this time, Piyo was really far away, in the woods, probably. But you still called it here, and I'm sure you've used quite a bit of your energy."

Ruka stared at her in wonder, then smiled. "Nothing gets past you, huh, Hotaru-san?"

"No, I wouldn't like to think so."

Ruka laughed in response.

--

"Tch, look at those guys, already acting like a happy couple," Natsume muttered, watching Hotaru and Ruka's conversation. "Hmm? What did you say, Natsume-kun?" Mikan asked, plopping down beside him. "Nothing."

"Howalon?" She offered him a box of the pink fluffy candy. "Thanks," he said, plucking one from the box and popping it into his mouth, more intent on watching Ruka and Hotaru.

"Nee, nee, what are you looking at?" Mikan followed his gaze and saw Ruka laughing with Hotaru. She raised her eyebrows. "Natsume-kun, is it just me, or are Ruka-pyon and Hotaru acting a bit…iffy…around each other?"

Natsume raised an eyebrow. "_Iffy_?" he repeated, amused. Mikan rolled her eyes. "Just answer the question!" she huffed angrily. "No, Polka Dots, it isn't just you. Ruka is acting strangely around Imai, and Imai is generally acting weird."

"Oh."

"…"

"…You know, I think this is the longest we've ever gone without fighting. We're actually conversing civilly. That's weird for us, huh?"

"Yeah."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…So…Alice Festival coming up soon…"

"…"

"…Has anyone asked you to be their Last Dance yet?"

"…No, it usually starts when the Festival starts."

"Oh. Uh…got anyone in mind this year?"

"…Maybe. Why?"

"Oh! Uh, nothing, j-just out of idle curiosity."

"Hn."

"…"

"…"

"…So…do you…want to be my Last Dance?"

"…Sure."

--

Unbeknownst to them, Hotaru had been filming the entire scene. Having spotted them sitting together under a tree, she'd suspected something was up and went over to catch it all on tape.

Laughing evilly on the inside, she returned to Ruka's side. Suddenly, a thought struck her. "Ruka-kun…" she began. "Did we leave our Chemistry project in the classroom?"

Ruka's eyes widened. "Crap! We did! Does that mean we have to start from scratch?"

"If it didn't survive the fight, then yes," Hotaru said, sighing. "Okay, this time, we're not going to scramble around your lab to find a few marbles." Ruka said jokingly. Hotaru giggled (causing many of her classmates to look at her very weirdly). "No, Ruka-pyon, this time we'll just go out and buy a packet."

"Yup. Should we wait until after lessons, or do you think that lessons will be suspended for today because of the massive carnage created by two teachers fighting over another?"

"We should wait for a teacher's say-so."

As if on cue, Narumi walked out of the building, strangely sporting a large red handmark. "Hey guys. Lessons will be suspended for today because of the massive damage caused by Ayashi-sensei. I am also here to tell you that Ayashi-sensei is not my fiancee, nor is she sane in any way whatsoever. She has been placed in the Psycho Ward in the hospital, and any student that wishes to visit her may do so between two and five in the afternoon. Hotaru-chan, Ruka-kun, your project was, unfortunately, damaged in the fight, and you will have to do it all over again. I apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you, and I will see you all again sometime. Goodbye." And with that, he promptly walked right back into the building.

--

"…That was oddly serious for Narumi-sensei," Sumire commented. "And Ayashi-sensei was tossed into the loony bin. Can you believe that?" She said this to the closest person, who just happened to be Yuu. He didn't say anything, for fear that she would snap at him again.

"Well? Say something!"

"B-But I thought - ! You – me – question – huh?"

"Blithering moron!"

Yuu smiled nervously in return.

* * *

Yeah, a bit strange, I know. It was on impulse that I had the little scene with the teachers. It was weird, but Narumi was in it, so his weirdness balances everything else out.

My favorite part was the Natsume/Mikan part. It was OOC, I know, but, hey, Natsume's sixteen, he's sure to have become more open some time.

By the way, it feels really weird to type 'Hotaru giggled' because Hotaru never giggles. It's also very hard to imagine. Shudder.

Review!

Stars of Gold


	5. Chapter 5

Not A Bubblegum Girl

by

Stars of Gold

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Alice Academy.

* * *

Chapter 5

Ruka and Hotaru were shopping in Central Town for several materials that they would need for their various projects. Unfortunately, as these projects were all of different subjects, this meant that shopping was a lot less easy than usual.

"So what should we get first?" Ruka asked, stretching as he stepped out of the bus. Hotaru scared off a few jealous girls eyeing her in disgust before saying, "I categorized the list by distance, so each item should be easily encountered with no back-tracking." She said in a business-like manner. "Come on, let's go!"

Ruka shifted nervously as he walked down the street with Hotaru. It felt a lot like a date, and he was unsure of whether or not Hotaru saw it in the same way he did. Girls are subtler in their actions, and drop hints here and there, but Ruka was unsure of how to read these hints. Add all of that to the fact that Hotaru is a lot more complex than other girls, and there you have a 4000 piece puzzle without a guide to help you.

Hotaru was facing a different problem. She had long noticed the evil eyes of the besotted fangirls, grouping together to form a mob before running after them. She elbowed Ruka in the ribs, asking, "What do you do about the fangirls?" She never took her eyes off them, and they seemed to get annoyed as she 'physically harmed' Ruka.

Ruka glanced around nervously, noticing the fangirls everywhere. Sucking in his breath and fighting down a blush, he quickly grabbed hold of Hotaru's hand. "What…What are you doing?" Her voice was hesitant and low. Ruka whispered back, "Hopefully they'll think we're out on a date and leave us alone."

"What happens if they don't?" Hotaru asked, eyeing the fangirls' murderous expressions.

"Do you have anything that will keep them at bay? Or, at the very least, something to help us run faster?"

"Yes, both."

"Good. Keep them ready. Now, just be casual, and hopefully they won't know of our plan."

"You rely a lot on hope, don't you?"

"Optimism. It does wonders when your best friend is on dangerous, life-threatening missions."

"…No wonder you like bubblegum girls."

"Nah, not really."

"Oh yeah? What about Mikan?"

"She's one girl. It's perfectly possible for me to be in love with another girl right now, one who isn't a bubblegum girl."

"Possible, but not probable."

"Oh, look, we've reached the shop!"

"Way to change the subject."

"Thanks."

Rolling her eyes, Hotaru simply pulled him into the shop.

--

"Blue One to Base, I have spotted the target. Repeat, I have spotted the target. Over."

"Base to Blue One, what is your location? Over."

"Blue One to Base, I'm outside that adorable joke shop. Over."

"Base to Blue One, do you mean the one with the cute bunny on top? Over."

"Blue One to Base, yes, I do. Over."

"Base to Blue One, we will be there ASAP. Over and out."

--

Throughout their entire time in the shop, Hotaru couldn't shake off the feeling that someone was watching them. When she and Ruka stepped out of the first store that sold marbles, which was, strangely, a joke shop, she noticed several blue-skirted middle schoolers glaring at her.

Quickly grasping Ruka's hand after letting go in the shop, she looked at the list in her hand and sighed. Today was going to be a long day.

--

She was right. Every time they exited a shop, they had to remind themselves to hold hands as not to rouse suspicion in the fangirls' minds.

Ruka wasn't complaining, although he did feel a bit awkward. Hotaru, on the other hand, was feeling slightly uncomfortable. Fortunately, after a while, they both got used to the feeling, and all was normal again.

"All right! We've finally gotten everything on the list."

"Yeah. Now come on, it's really hot out."

"Oh, yeah; since we're in town, we might as well have some fun. Come on, let's go to the ice cream parlor!"

"…What?"

"You heard me. Besides, the fangirls will really think it's a date, rather than us walking into random shops from time to time." Ruka was a bit ashamed, using fangirls as an excuse, but, hey, it wasn't every day that you got to go to Central Town with the girl of your dreams, was it?

"Well, I guess so…"

"Great! Now, come _on_ before it gets too crowded!"

--

"Blue Fifteen to Base. The target is heading to the ice cream parlor. I repeat, the target is heading to the ice cream parlor. Over."

"Base to Blue Fifteen, follow them! Do you require a team? Over."

"Blue Fifteen to Base, I would appreciate having my team with me, thanks. Over."

"Base to Blue Fifteen, we will send them to your location now. Over and out."

--

As they sat down, a waitress placed a menu in front of each of them. "Thank you, we'll call you when we're ready to order," Ruka said as he picked up his menu. Hotaru suppressed a smile as the waitress, who had been immensely cheerful about serving the blond boy, left with a disappointed look on her face.

"Hmm, I think I'll have a strawberry sundae. What about you, Hotaru-chan?"

Hotaru stared at him. Hotaru-chan? Since when did he call her by the –chan suffix?

"What? Do I have something on my face?" Ruka asked obliviously.

"No…" She said slowly, waiting for him to realize his mistake. Realization slowly dawned upon his face.

"Oh…Oh! I'm sorry, it just slipped out!" He blushed profusely in embarrassment.

"…Don't worry about it. It's okay. I think I'll have a banana split."

"What? No gigantic bowl of ice cream topped with crab brains?"

"Nice. _Really_ nice," she said sarcastically.

"Thank you." Ruka grinned.

"Yeah, yeah, just call the flirty waitress, Ruka-pyon," she replied. Ruka blinked at her. "Flirty?"

"Yeah, she was so disappointed when you didn't even look up at her," Hotaru replied, inspecting her nails for dirt. "Huh. I didn't notice." Ruka said, blinking.

"That's because you're clueless. I can see why you like Mikan."

"Liked. I don't like her anymore," he said absently, motioning for the waitress to come. She did, and Ruka coldly and politely placed their orders, not even showing the slightest bit of interest in her curvaceous figure. Hotaru noticed that the waitress' skirt seemed to be a lot shorter than before.

The waitress nodded, obviously dissatisfied about Ruka's lack of response towards her. "Is there anything else I could do for you?" she asked, somewhat seductively. Hotaru coughed lightly into her napkin to disguise a smirk as the waitress placed a hand on her hip, as if trying to entice Ruka into ordering something besides ice cream.

"No thank you, that will be all."

Hotaru was inexplicably happy with his answer. The waitress, however, was not, and sauntered off grumpily.

Hotaru, unable to control herself, laughed as she watched the waitress snap at a man who wolf-whistled at her.

"What? Why are you laughing?" Ruka, as usual, had no clue, and she merely said, "Sometimes, your ignorance of underlying intentions is amazing."

"Uh, thank you, I guess," he replied uncertainly, confused at Hotaru's sudden good mood.

--

"Team 3 to Base, the target paid no attention to the very pretty waitress! Is this a bad sign? Over."

"Base to Team 3, yes, yes it is. It is very bad indeed. Do not attack, I repeat, do not attack. Surveillance only. Over."

"Team 3 to Base, roger that. Surveillance only. Over and out."

--

"So, tell me," Ruka said through a mouthful of ice cream, "Why have you suddenly become so…not emotionless?"

Hotaru swallowed a mouthful of her own ice cream. "Mysterious reasons that I will not tell you," she replied, dodging the question. "But – "

"Ruka-kun." Hotaru's voice was firm. "Don't ask questions like this. Eventually, you will annoy me, and you don't want that to happen."

Ruka sweatdropped. "Eheh…yeah. Sorry, Hotaru-chan."

There was a comfortable silence as they ate their ice cream in peace.

That is, until Ruka stole a slice of banana from Hotaru's banana split.

"Nogi, what are you doing?" Hotaru asked, glaring at him. He smiled angelically at her and popped another slice of banana into his mouth. "Nogi, you better stop that before I murder you."

He merely winked at her mischievously, saying, "But I'm your main source of income. You can't kill me." Normally, Hotaru would have been very serious about this. Food-stealing was a serious offence in her book. But thanks to her growing feelings towards Ruka, the wink he'd given her had thrown her off tempo, so to speak, and she blushed very slightly.

"Nogi, I am serious. I will hurt you."

"Hurting me won't get you your food back."

"But it will give me immense satisfaction."

"In fact, the only way you'll get your banana slice back," he popped another slice into his mouth, "is to get it yourself."

Hotaru glared.

"So it all comes down to how much you want it," Ruka said, rolling yet another slice of banana between his fingers. "The price for this one slice is one kiss." He grinned mischievously at her. "Is it worth it?" he whispered softly, popping it into his mouth. To him, it was a win-win situation. On one hand, he could get kissed by Hotaru. On the other, he could get to eat the banana. Either way, he still won.

Hotaru glared death at him, but made no move to stop him. She would not be forced to kiss him. No way would she lose her first kiss just because of a bit of food. Smirking evilly, she simply pulled her bowl towards her, placing it on her lap and sticking a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth as she looked at Ruka, an air of triumph surrounding her.

Swearing profusely in his mind, Ruka merely sighed on the outside. "I guess I'd have to get up early in the morning to outsmart you, Hotaru-chan," he said, sighing once more. Hotaru grinned impishly. "You'd have to stay up all night."

--

"Team 3 to Base. Imai is smiling, Imai is smiling, this is seriously bad. Over."

"Base to Team 3, are you sure? Imai never smiles. Over."

"Team 3 to Base, I am positively sure. There is no mistaking that smile. The target is sighing in defeat. Do we threaten her tomorrow? Over."

"Base to Team 3. No, don't do that, she will pummel us. We are forced to wait and watch. Over."

"Team 3 to Base. Take no course of action? Over."

"Base to Team 3. No, do not attempt anything. Imai is very capable of taking care of herself. But there is a way to change that. I will inform everyone later at the hideout. Over and out."

--

"Alright, I think we've both cooled down enough. Come on, Hotaru-chan, let's get going," Ruka chirped cheerily as he dropped the correct amount of Rabbits into the hole provided.

He took her hand and tugged her out of the shop. "I want to show you something," he said to her, pulling her gently along the street. "What?"

"It's a surprise, Hotaru-chan," he replied, rolling his eyes at her. "Duh."

"I don't like surprises," she said monotonously. Ruka rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, lighten up, Hotaru-chan!" She sighed as he pulled her along gently.

Eventually, they got to a hill overlooking Central Town. "Here we are," Ruka said, sitting down on the grass. Hotaru sat down next to him. "Okay, we're here. Now what?"

"Relax. You're always so uptight, even when you actually show your emotions. Come on, lay back and look up at the blue skies – and just relax."

Hotaru raised an eyebrow at him skeptically. "It's perfect for relaxing up here," he said quietly. "It's quiet and not too many people know about it. You're so stressed, Hotaru-chan. It's bad for your health. Lay back, close your eyes and just listen to the sound of my voice."

Hotaru obliged, albeit shooting him a weird look before doing so. "Good. Now, forget all your worries. Forget them all. Just imagine that you're in a field, a wide open field. Everywhere you turn, there's grass." His voice was very soothing.

"Breathe in the smell of fresh air deeply. Again and again, just to savor it." She did, and Ruka smiled softly. "Now picture a hill right in front of you, a small, grassy hill with bright flowers and a big tree right at the top. As you walk towards that hill, you can feel the grass, cool and comforting under your bare feet.

"You walk up that hill slowly, and notice a nice, warm bed in the shade of the tree. It looks very comforting, and you know you want a little rest. Go ahead, rest there for as long as you like."

Ruka paused in his words, allowing Hotaru to rest for a while before saying, "Now you feel well rested. You slowly but calmly climb out of bed, and notice a long road beside the hill. You know that it is the road of life, but you go down to it, knowing that you will now be able to face any challenge it brings you."

And then he pressed a button on his walkman phone and a loud, noisy, heavy metal song filled the previously calm and peaceful air. Hotaru sat up abruptly and glared at him. He smiled right back at her and switched off the music.

"See? Don't you feel much better now?" he asked, smiling. Hotaru sighed and mumbled something inaudible. "What? I can't hear you," Ruka said, cupping his ear. "It helped," Hotaru repeated loudly. He grinned triumphantly. "Good. You can use that technique when you feel stressed. Or you can come to me, I'll help you."

"No thanks, I'll manage."

"Alright then, if you're sure. Look, Hotaru-chan, that's the real reason I brought you here." She followed his gaze and saw the beautiful sunset.

There was moment of silence.

And then, it was broken.

"Ruka, you sap."

--

"Base to Team 3. Report back to school, you don't want to miss dinner. We are reluctant to cut this mission short, but we won't let our members starve. Over."

"Team 3 to Base. Okay, we're coming. Besides, Takahashi will scold us if we're out late, since we're middle schoolers. Over and out."

--

"…Well, it's pretty…"

"Yeah, but you're still a sap."

"…I guess I'll just take that as a compliment."

"…You're not only a sap, you're stupid, too. We'll never get back to the Academy in time to eat dinner, you moron."

"Then we'll eat out. C'mon, I know a great place to eat, and high school three stars are allowed to order wine."

That did it. Hotaru stood without a word and made her way down the hill, Ruka grinning as he followed.

--

It turns out that Hotaru didn't exactly have the best alcohol tolerance in Alice Academy.

Tch, understatement of the year. She downed one glass of wine and went crazy. "Ruka-pyooooonnn," she chirped dizzily. "Are we done heeeeere?"

Ruka flinched. "Well, given your current state, I'd say we were."

"Huhhh?"

"Never mind. Koko-kun, could you pack those vanilla crepes for us?"

"Of course, Ruka-kun. I never thought that I'd ever see Imai Hotaru drunk."

"Yeah, me neither. Fetch the bill for me, too, will you?"

"Okay, no problem. Good luck with Imai-chan."

"Thanks, Koko-kun."

After paying the bill, Ruka managed to support Hotaru all the way to the pavement outside, but then she collapsed, arms raised towards him, saying, "Carry me, Ruka-pyooooooooonn!"

Ruka sighed. "Hotaru-chan, this isn't a time for games. Come on, we have to go back to the Academy."

"I'm not moooooooving. You will have to carryyyyy meeeeee!" She smiled at him hazily. He sighed and picked her up. "Damn, Hotaru-chan, you're lighter than I expected. You eat so much…"

"Are you calllllling meeeee fatttttttt?" she asked, somewhat angrily. "No, Hotaru-chan, I'm saying that you're lighter than I'd imagined." Ruka managed to save himself from mutilation.

"Ohhhhhh."

"Hotaru-chan, you never told me you didn't have high alcohol tolerance."

"I forgottttt…"

"Right. You wanted to get drunk, didn't you?"

"Mayyyyybeeee," she replied, winking at him.

"You're crazy. But I guess you won't remember any of this in the morning, so I guess there's no point in berating you."

"Uh-huhhhhh!"

Ruka didn't bother speaking after that. Hotaru blinked in confusion. "Nee, Ru-ka-kuunnnn!"

"Hmm?"

"Can you singgg?"

"I can sing, but I can't sing well."

"Realllllly?"

"Yes, Hotaru-chan, really."

"I don't belieeeeeeeeeeve you. Sing for meee!"

"No."

"Aw, pleeeeeeeeease!"

"No."

"Nya, Ruka-kun is no fun!" She pouted, then cuddled closer to him. He blushed immediately and asked, "Ho-Hotaru-chan…wh-what are you d-doing?"

"I'm cold, Ruka-kun," she said innocently, her voice slightly muffled by his shirt. "It's cooooooooold at night, and I'm wearing the school's summmmmmmmmer uniform," she explained woozily.

"R-Right."

"Naa, Ruka-kuuuuuuuuuunn! Sing for meeeeee!"

"If I do, will you stop bugging me about it?"

"Yesss!"

"Fine."

Ruka took a deep breath, then began singing.

"You can dance every dance with the guy  
Who gives you the eye, let him hold you tight  
You can smile every smile for the man  
Who held your hand 'neath the pale moon light  
But don't forget who's takin' you home  
And in whose arms you're gonna be  
So darlin' save the last dance for me

Oh I know that the music's fine  
Like sparklin' wine, go and have your fun  
Laugh and sing, but while we're apart  
Don't give your heart to anyone  
And don't forget who's takin' you home  
And in whose arms you're gonna be  
So darlin' save the last dance for me

Baby don't you know I love you so  
Can't you feel it when we touch  
I will never ever let you go  
I love you oh so much

You can dance, go and carry on  
Till the night is gone  
And it's time to go  
If he asks if you're all alone  
Can he walk you home, you must tell him no  
'Cause don't forget who's taking you home  
And in whose arms I'm gonna be  
Save the last dance for me

Oh I know that the music's fine  
Like sparklin' wine, go and have your fun  
Laugh and sing, but while we're apart  
Don't give your heart to anyone  
And don't forget who's takin' you home  
And in whose arms you're gonna be  
So darlin' save the last dance for me

So don't forget who's taking you home  
And in whose arms you're gonna be  
So darling, save the last dance for me

Oh baby

Won't you save the last dance for me.

Save the last dance for me."

Ruka's voice faded into the night, and Hotaru, listening, sighed in contentment. "You should sing that song at the Alice Festival Ball," she said, less drunken than before. "Are you feeling better now, Hotaru-chan?"

"A little tipsy, but I'll…be…alright…"

And then Ruka found himself with a sleeping Hotaru in his arms. He only had one thing to say about that.

"Aw, crap."

--

Some time later, Ruka made his way to the girls' dormitories. Unfortunately, he didn't know where Hotaru's room was, so he was forced to knock on Mikan's door. The sleepy girl opened the door, yawning as she did so. "Mikan-chan, where is Hotaru-chan's room?"

Mikan blinked herself awake, then blinked a lot more at the sight she saw. Ruka was holding Hotaru in his arms bridal style. She had passed out, and now Ruka was asking for directions to her room. "Ruka-pyon, what happened to Hotaru?" she asked slowly before coming to any conclusions.

"She took a glass of wine and got drunk. Then she passed out."

Mikan nodded in understanding. "Oh…How could you let her get near wine?!" She would have slapped him right across the face if he hadn't stepped backwards in fear. "I didn't know! She didn't tell me!"

The sound of his very obviously male voice had many female heads poking out of doors. There were several whispers as they took in the sight of him carrying one girl and visiting another. Ruka blushed bright red, and hurriedly asked Mikan for Hotaru's room number. "457, up on the fourth floor," she replied, yawning.

"Thank you, Mikan-chan. I owe you one." And then he quickly made his way up the stairs and located the room of the girl sleeping in his arms. Attempting to turn the knob, he swore angrily as he found that it was locked.

He set her down on the floor gently, then hesitantly stuck his hand into Hotaru's various pockets, searching first her jacket pockets then – blushing furiously – her skirt pockets. Eventually he had to check her breast pocket as well, blushing a shade darker than maroon as he did so.

Unfortunately, he did not manage to find the key, and so had to wake Hotaru up. "Hotaru-chan," he whispered, shaking her lightly. "Hmm…?" she mumbled, cracking open on eye. "Where is the key to your room?"

"Uh…" She sat up, blinking. Then, without considering Ruka's embarrassment, she pulled on the neck of her shirt, shoved her hand down it, and pulled out a small silver key from her bra.

Ruka blushed so hard, he was positive that he had turned violet. Unfortunately, the girl had fallen asleep right after that, and he gingerly picked up the key and unlocked the door before picking Hotaru up again and carrying her into the room.

This also meant that he had to pull off her shoes for her, as well as kick off his own before stepping onto her lush, deep purple carpet. He refused to pull anything else off, and pulled back her covers before gently placing her onto it, then pulling the blanket over her sleeping form.

She seemed to whimper, and clutched at Ruka's arm as if she didn't want him to leave, but he pried her fingers off of his arm firmly and left to take a nice, cold shower.

* * *

That relaxing technique? Yeah, you should try it, it really does work. You might want to play some relaxing music in the background, too. And the whole "Hotaru-san" to "Hotaru-chan" thing and their surprise, well, as far as I know, the -chan suffix implies that your relationship is more intimate than if you use -san.

Review!

Stars of Gold


	6. Chapter 6

Not A Bubblegum Girl

by

Stars of Gold

DISCLAIMER: Nope, don't own Alice Academy.

* * *

Chapter 6

When Hotaru woke up, she was actually quite surprised to find herself in her own room, comfortably curled up in her bed. "That's odd. I don't remember…"

And then memories of what she had done in her drunken state came back to her.

"Oh, hell no."

Clutching her head as the hangover truly hit her, she groaned and rolled out of bed wearily. "Damn, I can't remember the last time I had a hangover this bad. Nogi let me drink a whole glass instead of Mikan stopping me after half," she muttered to herself.

She quickly completed her morning rituals, then sighed softly. "I guess it's time to take another of Nonoko's painkillers."

--

Hotaru knocked on Nonoko's door. "Just a moment!" Nonoko yelled back, her voice muffled through the door. "Yes, what do you want?" she snapped as she pulled the door open. Hotaru tried not to stare, but it was really quite hard. Nonoko's usually pin-straight blue hair was terribly messy, her uniform horribly disheveled and her eyes bloodshot.

"I was going to ask for painkillers," Hotaru said carefully. Nonoko laughed hysterically, and Hotaru took a cautious step back.

"There it goes again! Everybody's always asking ME for things! It's always 'Nonoko, give me those Everlasting Sweets' or 'Can I have a Love Potion' or 'Sell me some Stamina Pills, I want to study late'! WHY? Why not bother Anna or you, Hotaru? WHY ME?"

Hotaru considered running for it, but the mere thought of it had her hangover making itself very noticeable. Just then, Tobita Yuu, of all people, emerged from her room and put an arm around her shoulders. "Ah, Nonoko-chan, come and have a bit of rest. You'll feel much better once you do," he said, trying to persuade her into doing as he said. Looking apologetically at Hotaru, he said, "Hotaru-chan, wait for a moment while I – "

He slipped back into the room, Nonoko following him submissively. Hotaru stood around and looked at her watch.

A minute passed.

Yuu came back to the door, slightly out of breath. "Sorry, Hotaru-chan. She's a bit…overworked." Hotaru raised an eyebrow. "Why were you in her room at eight o'clock in the morning?"

He turned a very visible shade of red. "Wow, Hotaru-chan, I like your outfit today!" Well, at least his attempt to change the subject wasn't stupid. She wasn't wearing her uniform, and she did look absolutely charming in a dark green boatneck over a light green tank top and a pair of jeans. "Thank you, but stop trying to change the subject."

"Eheh… Well, you see…I…err…ah…eh…"

"Oh, whatever, just give me the damn painkillers!" she snapped. All his stuttering was making her head pound even more. Yuu was more than happy to oblige, thrusting the entire bottle into her hands.

"Okaygottagoseeyou!" With that poorly structured sentence, he slammed the door in her face.

Hotaru sighed and was tempted to shake her head, but that would have been a very, very foolish thing to do, considering her hangover. Instead, she popped two of the pills into her mouth and swallowed. "I hope she's worked out the kinks."

--

Ruka was up bright and early the following day, not at all sporting the blinding headache his beloved was. "So is it true you've already given your Last Dance to Mikan-chan?"

Natsume, who was walking around campus with him, scowled. "There are rumors spreading already?"

"I'll take that as a yes, then?"

"Hn." Just like Natsume to make a non-committal reply like that. Ruka merely smiled teasingly at his best friend. "I knew it would happen some day," he said. Natsume snorted. "You're one to talk. What about that crush you've been nursing?"

Ruka colored immediately. "Wh-What crush?" he asked, feigning ignorance. Natsume snorted once more. "The one on Imai. I know you like her," he added, looking at Ruka pointedly. Ruka's blush intensified, and he looked away, twiddling his thumbs as he mumbled, "I d-don't have a c-c-c-crush on Hotaru-chan!"

"Oh, so it's _Hotaru-chan_ now, huh?" Natsume teased, nudging Ruka in the ribs. "Hey, what happened in Central Town yesterday, anyway?" He enjoyed watching the blush creeping across his best friend's ears. "You two disappeared after Narumi told us there were no classes."

"We were shopping for materials. For the class projects, you know," Ruka began. "Then…well…"

--

Hotaru was in a similar predicament. Nonoko obviously had not worked out the kinks, and so she was forced to endure the side effects. Now, surely there could not be any side effect that scared Imai Hotaru, could there? That's what you would think.

This particular side effect was that the one who takes the pills will become very, very, very girly.

Hence, Hotaru had, under the influence of the pills, changed into a very pink version of her current outfit, except that she wore a light pink pencil skirt instead of jeans and had donned a pair of pink high-heeled sandals. She had also opted for pink lip-gloss, pink blush and pink eyeshadow.

The overall effect was very pleasant, but if the normal Hotaru had seen her smiling, pink-coated self, she would have shot herself in horror. As it was, she sashayed over to Mikan's room to, of course, talk about her 'date' with Ruka the previous day.

She entered Mikan's room excitedly, expecting to see the girl happily tying her hair up into ribbons or planning her outfit for today. Instead, she was graced with a sleeping Mikan, curled up under her blanket.

Hotaru giggled girlishly and pulled off her shoes before running and jumping right onto Mikan's bed. Mikan yelped and sat up sleepily. "Hotaru? Is that you?"

"Morning, Mikan!"

Mikan, used to Hotaru's painkiller induced craziness, smiled cheerfully back. "Good morning, Hotaru!" Usually, she took advantage of this time to do girl stuff with her usually stoic best friend without having to be shot by the Baka Bazooka.

"Hey, hey, Mikan, guess what?"

"What?"

"I went on a sort of date with one of the hottest boys in school!"

Mikan, who had thought that she and Ruka had simply been out after dinnertime, and so went out to eat, gaped at her. "No way! Who?"

"Okay, get this. Nogi Ruka!"

This caused a vicious bout of squealing.

"No way! Spill!"

"Okay, so we were, like, shopping for stuff in Central Town to do our partner projects, and there were these stupid fangirls – " she took a moment to make a face and pretend to gag " – and they were, like, trying to mob him! So he _grabbed my hand_! Seriously, he grabbed my hand!"

This induced another vicious bout of squealing.

"And we, like, totally had to pretend we were on a date – "

--

" – to ward off the fangirls. It was annoying, you know, having to hold her hand every time we got out of a store…at first. After a while, it was natural, and I felt…comfortable doing it." Ruka looked Natsume in the eye. "Am I going nuts?"

"Nope, you're just falling in love." He paused. "Well, falling harder in love, I suppose," he corrected. "What happened after the stores? Knowing you, you took the chance to take her somewhere, like on a real date, so where'd you take her?"

Ruka took a deep breath.

"I took her to – "

--

" – an ice cream parlor, Mikan! It was so nice of him! All I did was say that it was hot, and he offered to buy me ice cream!" Hotaru gushed uncharacteristically. Mikan squealed unabashedly. "I always knew Ruka-pyon was a nice person!"

"Yeah, like, no duh! He's, like, kind to animals! If he's kind to animals, he can't be mean to humans!"

"You do have a point. But go on, what happened next?"

"Well, there was this pretty waitress that, like, couldn't stop _looking_ at him, if you know what I mean," Hotaru said in disgust. Mikan gasped in horror. "No! What happened?"

"Well, the waitress – "

--

" – was apparently trying to seduce me," Ruka shrugged. "No doubt, she was pretty, but I didn't notice what she was trying to do until Hotaru-chan pointed it out."

"Wow. You've fallen really hard for this girl, haven't you?" Natsume asked dryly. "Yeah, I guess so. I stole a slice of banana from her banana split after we'd gotten our food."

"Bold move, Ruka. You know she loves her food."

"I was – "

--

" – testing me or something! He, like, totally expected me to French him to get my food!"

Mikan scoffed. "Such a guy. He obviously doesn't know the three date rule."

"Yeah! Boys are so ignorant."

"Totally. I've been dropping hints for Natsume, but he never even responded to any of them till yesterday!"

"Why? What happened yesterday?"

"I'll tell you after you finish telling me all about your date."

"Aw, Mikan, no fair!"

"Sorry, Hotaru, but I can't interrupt a telling of such a beautiful first date! Besides, even though you didn't French him, you wanted to, didn't you?"

Hotaru blushed. "Well, I…yeah. Yeah, I wanted to. A lot. But I totally couldn't stoop that low! My pride stopped me, but the three date rule occurred to me, too."

Mikan sighed. "Too bad. Well, carry on!"

"Okay, so after he paid for the ice cream, he – "

--

" – took her to that hill."

"_That_ hill?"

"Yeah."

"You didn't give her that relaxation technique thing, too, did you?"

"As a matter of fact, I did."

"Geez, Ruka, I can't believe you were worried for her long term health at a time like that."

"Yeah, well, I happen to care about her mental health. Too much stress could ultimately kill her!"

"Uh huh. I think it was because you were biding for time. You got up there faster than expected and needed to buy some time before the sunset."

"…Know-it-all."

"Ha, I knew it."

"Well, it shows that I – "

--

" – cares about me!"

"He told you how to relax? Well, yeah, I guess you are always kind of stressed out all the time. Your inventions take a lot out of you."

Hotaru sighed dreamily. "Handsome, chivalrous, caring… What more could a girl want?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

"But that wasn't the most romantic part! He – "

--

" – watched the sunset with her. Sure, she called me a sap, but it was worth it, since she didn't push me down the hill or anything violent like that."

"I can't believe that you're actually sounding like you succeeded in getting to Imai's heart."

"Yeah, neither can I. She's pretty, smart, funny… What else could a guy want?"

"To most guys, the question of whether or not she's a good shag is also taken into account."

"N-Natsume!"

"What?"

"That was totally uncalled for!"

"…"

"Well, anyway, I took – "

--

" – me out to dinner, too! Oh, it was such a nice place! We had dinner by candle light, and even a glass of wine…"

"Oh yeah, that's when you got drunk."

Hotaru laughed nervously. "Yeah, I did. Oh, and Koko-kun was there too! He was a waiter. Ruka-kun asked him to pack dessert because I was too drunk to eat."

"So nice of him! Then what?"

"He helped me to the door, but I made him – "

--

" – carry her as soon as we got to the pavement."

"_Carry_ her? Bridal style?"

"Y-Yeah."

Natsume whistled. "Brave. But I guess she was drunk, so it doesn't count."

"She was really light, lighter than I'd thought. With the way she packs away all that food every day, I'd thought she would have been heavier than that."

"Did she pass out?"

Ruka cringed. "Only after she made me – "

--

" – sing! Oh, Mikan, he sings so beautifully, I can't imagine why he'd say that it was horrible!"

Mikan giggled. "Really? Oh, that's wonderful! I know _I'd_ like a musical boyfriend who could serenade me all the time!"

"I passed out after that, though."

"Oh, that's so sad. Do you remember anything else?"

"No, the next thing I remember is waking up this morning."

"Oh, such a waste."

"Yeah, I didn't get a sweet, shy goodnight!"

"Oh well, there's always next time."

"Yeah. Now it's your turn to tell me about you and Hyuuga!"

--

"And that's basically what happened."

Natsume whistled. "I'm sorry I couldn't have been there. The drunk episode of Imai's would have made for a good deal of blackmail."

"Yeah, it would have, but as it is, she'd probably blackmail me to stop me from blackmailing her. She has way too much dirt on me, it's almost stalkerish."

Natsume snorted at the thought of Imai Hotaru stalking his best friend. "Please. She has better things to do than stalk you."

"…True."

There was a comfortable silence as Ruka stroked his new puppy. It had been dozing as the two boys were talking, and only now was it waking sleepily.

"Oh, there goes the breakfast bell. Come on, we don't want to be late."

--

"Mikan! That's the breakfast bell! I'm starving! I'll just go without you, okay? I'll save you a seat next to your new boyfriend, 'kay?"

"He is NOT my boyfriend!"

Hotaru simply giggled and skipped happily out of the door.

Sighing, Mikan murmured to herself, "I think I might not be able to keep up with this Hotaru…" Shaking her head, she quickly proceeded to shower and brush her teeth before throwing on a yellow tank top and a pair of denim shorts. After applying light make up, she practically threw herself out of the door, briefly stopping only to slip on a pair of flip-flops before rushing down to the breakfast hall, even forgetting to tie her hair into its customary pigtails.

--

Everybody stared as Hotaru cheerfully _skipped_ into breakfast that morning adorned in _pink_. Several students screamed in horror while others proclaimed it the end of the world. Anna and Koko, having already deduced that Hotaru must have taken painkillers, simply scrutinized her for a while before shrugging and returning to their breakfast, chatting happily as they did so.

Hotaru ignored the silence that had fallen upon her fellow students and cheerfully went to load lots of food onto her plate. Sitting at an empty circular table, she cheerily began to scarf down her food.

--

Ruka and Natsume had almost walked through the doors to the breakfast hall when Mikan ran into them – or would have if Ruka hadn't dodged out of reflex (thank all those shots from the Baka Bazooka). Mikan crashed into Natsume and they promptly fell in a heap into the breakfast hall.

This took the attention off the strangely behaving Hotaru, causing the entire hall to roar with laughter. Even Ruka couldn't help snickering as he watched Mikan apologize profusely and stand up.

Surprisingly, Natsume didn't yell anything rude at her. Ruka supposed that it was because he couldn't bring himself to yell at his Last Dance partner. Her asking him for his Last Dance was enough confirmation of her feelings – for now, at least.

What really surprised him was when Hotaru, clad entirely in pink, ran girlishly towards Mikan. "Oh my God, Mikan, are you okay?" she asked worriedly. Both Ruka and Natsume stared. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Natsume cushioned my fall pretty well!"

"Nice to know you care about my welfare, Polka Dots."

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

"I'll call you whatever the hell I want."

"Oh, Natsume, you pervert!"

The two continued to bicker as they melted into the crowd. Ruka chuckled after them, then eyed Hotaru cautiously. "Morning, Ruka-kun," she chirped cheerily. "Uh…morning, Hotaru-chan." Shaking his head, he resolved to ask Mikan about it later. "Uh…I'm just going to go get my food…" He smiled at her nervously, then disappeared into the crowd as quickly as possible.

--

"Hey, Polka Dots, what's up with Imai today?"

"Oh, Hotaru? She's just taken one of Nonoko's painkillers, and the side-effects are…causing her to act differently."

"'_Act differently?'_ She's a walking _Barbie_, damn it!"

Mikan promptly slapped the back of his head. "Don't swear."

"That hurt, Pigtails."

"I'm not wearing pigtails today, so there!" She stuck her tongue out at him childishly. "Fine, be that way, Lollipops."

"_NATSUME NO HENTAI!_"

--

Somewhere in Central Town, Andou Tsubasa and Harada Misaki cocked their heads. "There she goes again," Tsubasa sighed.

"I swear she gets louder with each passing day."

"Yeah. I wonder what it would take for the brat to stop teasing her. Maybe if we get her a lacy – "

"Tsubasa, don't even think about her in a thong. If you're going to think about anyone in a thong, it had better be me."

"Yes, dear."

--

Ruka chuckled as he followed them to Hotaru's previously empty table. "Oh, I almost forgot to say good morning to you, Ruka-pyon!" Ruka smiled. "Morning, Mikan-chan."

Mikan beamed right back at him, then turned to Natsume with a murderous glare. Natsume made a witty retort, and Mikan retaliated, and so their bickering continued. "Ah, Hotaru-chan, do you have a hangover this morning?" Ruka asked, making conversation.

"Yes, but I took a couple of Nonoko's painkillers, so I'm perfectly fine now! No need to worry!" Ruka twitched slightly at her obscenely cheerful attitude. Then her words really sank in. _Nonoko's painkillers. No wonder she's so girly today, _thought Ruka.

"Oh, Hotaru-chan, I forgot to give this to you." He handed her a box. "It's the vanilla crepe from yesterday. I packed it up so that you could enjoy it without your mind being clouded by alcohol."

"Oh, thank you, Ruka-kun! That's really sweet of you."

"N-No problem."

There was an awkward silence between them, filled only by Natsume and Mikan's continued bickering. Ruka left a little bit of his food on his plate, then carried his cute little puppy up on to the table to finish it.

"Aw, it's so cute!" Mikan was immediately distracted when Hotaru began to coo. Natsume and Ruka, weirded out by Hotaru's girlishness, stared at her. The two girls cooed over the small puppy, who was happy that there were people paying attention to it.

Suddenly, Koko stood up and slammed his hands on the table. "By God, Mochu, just ASK her! All your damn thinking isn't just hurting you, it's hurting me even more!"

Everybody laughed as Koko sat down, fuming, and Mochu slid down in his seat, blushing. Anna patted Koko's back comfortingly. "It's okay, Koko, I'm sure he'll ask her sometime," she said soothingly. Koko glared at the table. "It's not just him. The Alice Festival is coming around and everybody's thinking about who they'll want to partner with for the Last Dance," he grumbled.

Anna blushed as she thought about the Last Dance. "Yes, Anna, if you should ever work up the courage to ask me, I will say yes," Koko said absently as he tried sifting out the thoughts he was hearing. Anna blushed. "T-That was private!"

"Well, technically, it wasn't as if I was purposely hearing your thoughts, Anna."

"B-But – "

"See, now you don't have to work up the courage to ask at all, since I've already agreed."

"…Oh. I never looked at it that way."

"Yep. And now, if you'll excuse me…" Koko slammed his hand on the table to get everybody's attention. "Excuse me!" he yelled, standing on the table. "Girls, as much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Hyuuga Natsume will not agree to be your Last Dance, as he has already agreed to be someone else's. So I would really appreciate it if you would all just STOP THINKING ABOUT HIM. I am not gay, and the images I am receiving are very scarring for a straight guy. Thank you, and have a pleasant day."

With that, he jumped down from the table and promptly continued eating his breakfast.

Female groans rang out all across the hall. Male cheers took their place almost immediately. Koko groaned. "Now they've all transferred their thoughts to Ruka…" Anna couldn't help giggling.

--

Mikan took her three friends to see Misaki and Tsubasa in Central Town after breakfast. Hotaru readily agreed, and somehow the boys were talked into going as well. "What am I doing here?" Natsume muttered to himself. Ruka, beside him, shrugged. "I don't know. I just followed them because Hotaru-chan pulled the puppy eyes on me. Plus, they were taking my puppy with them! I couldn't leave her with them! I still don't trust Mikan-chan to take care of small animals. Knowing her, she'd drop the poor puppy on its head and give it a concussion."

Natsume wondered briefly how he'd been tricked into following the annoying brunette and her equally annoying best friend (_Well,_ he amended. _Imai isn't always annoying; today's just an exception._) to see a much more annoying friend of hers and his slightly less annoying girlfriend. Shrugging after a while, he decided that he was simply following Ruka.

In actuality, it was that he, looking into Mikan's eyes in fascination, had nodded absently when she asked whether or not he wanted to go with them, and he really didn't want to tell her that he had been staring at her too intensely to hear her question.

Ha, besotted fool.

Anyway, as they made their way to Tsubasa and Misaki's house, Ruka walked forwards faster so that he was walking in line with Mikan and Hotaru, then told Mikan to save Natsume from being mobbed horribly by fangirls. He turned around to face Natsume, grinned and winked as Mikan fell behind to walk with him.

Natsume glared back, and Ruka turned to face the front. "Hotaru-chan, do you see any fangirls around?" he asked. "Yeah, right over there, and in that alley, and in the store, and – " Ruka grabbed her hand quickly before she could continue. "Do you know the way to their house?" Ruka asked casually, pausing before a junction.

"Y-Yeah, um, left," Hotaru stammered. Ruka was feeling a lot like their roles had been reversed.

--

"So, Natsume-kun, what was Ruka-pyon talking about, saving you from fangirls?" Mikan asked, blinking. "Moron, he wanted to be alone with Imai," Natsume replied, glaring a hole in the back of Ruka's head as he and Hotaru chatted in front of them.

"Aw, that's so sweet!" Mikan gushed. Natsume rolled his eyes. "Great, now I'm stuck with you."

"Hey! What's so bad about being with me, huh?"

"You're annoying."

"Natsume! Can't you be nice to me after agreeing to be my Last Dance?"

"It's not like you were professing your undying love for me or anything."

"Tch! You wish!" Mikan's tone wasn't quite as vehement as she'd hoped, but she turned away anyway, blushing. Natsume sighed. _If only you knew…_ "Anyway, Polka Dots, it's just a dance," he said stubbornly. "Just a dance, huh?" Mikan mumbled, sounding a bit disappointed. "But doesn't it mean anything? There's that legend about true love lasting between partners, you know…"

"Legends usually aren't true."

"But then why'd you agree to be my Last Dance partner, huh? Out of pity?"

"…No."

"Then?"

"…I want to believe that particular legend."

An awkward silence fell over the two, both blushing. Mikan was trying to process his words and search for another meaning before she jumped to conclusions while Natsume was feeling a bit stupid for letting that sentence slip.

"Okay guys, here we are." Ruka said as they came to a halt in front of a nice townhouse. "Mikan-chan, you should be the one to knock. They are your friends, after all," Ruka reasoned, stepping back so that she could pass them.

"…Oh! Right." Shaking her head to free it of her thoughts, she stepped forward and rang the doorbell.

"Hang on a sec!" Tsubasa's voice, muffled through the door, rang out.

Natsume wondered once more why he was going to visit a person he really didn't like.

Ruka wondered why he'd agreed to visit someone he didn't even know.

Hotaru wondered when Ruka would let go of her hand, although she didn't want him to.

Mikan wondered why there were loud crashes and screams coming from inside the house.

And then the door swung open and Misaki stuck out her head. "Oh, it's Mikan-chan-tachi!" She smiled. "Come in, come in!" She ushered them all in and closed the door behind them.

"Misaki-sempai, where's Tsubasa-sempai?" Mikan asked. "Oh, Tsubasa? He's just serving his punishment for eating all the cookies last night. He couldn't sleep, the hyper thing, so neither could I. He's over there in the living room." She led them over to her long-time boyfriend.

"Hi, Mikan-chan, Hotaru-chan, Ruka-kun and Natsume-kun!" Tsubasa greeted waving cheerfully. "Hi, Tsubasa-sempai!" Mikan responded cheerfully. The others murmured a vague "Hello" as they stared. Tsubasa was currently hanging upside down from a ceiling fan, clothes looking rumpled and a few scratches and bruises on his face. Natsume smirked triumphantly.

"So what brings you here, Mikan-chan?"

"Ah, yes, we just wanted to drop by and say hello."

"Well, since you're here already, I might as well ask. Ruka-kun, Hotaru-chan, there are certain rumors spreading around town about the two of you. Like, they're saying you two were seen on a date yesterday. Mind clearing that up for us?"

Both teens in question blushed. Misaki raised an eyebrow. "So they're true?" she asked, innocently enough.

"No! We were shopping for stuff we needed for our partner projects!" Ruka protested. Hotaru nodded.

"Really?"

"Yes!" they chorused indignantly.

"Then why do the rumors also say you guys were holding hands?" Tsubasa countered.

"Don't I recall you holding Misaki-sempai's hand once _before_ you guys started dating?" Ruka commented pointedly.

"That was to ward off the fangirls!"

"Yep, same here."

Eyes narrowed, Tsubasa glared at Ruka for once instead of Natsume. Ruka looked up at the ceiling fan and wondered what would happen if he turned the fan on. Natsume, following his gaze, chuckled lightly, and Tsubasa immediately transferred his glare to him.

"What're _you_ laughing at?" Tsubasa snapped. Natsume shrugged. "Harada-sempai, could I switch on the fan?" Ruka asked innocently. Misaki, who had been in the nearby kitchen preparing a few refreshments for their guests, yelled back absently, "Yeah, go ahead."

Ruka grinned evilly and flipped the switch, much to Natsume and Hotaru's amusement. Tsubasa's eyes widened as he turned round and round, faster and faster each time he did.

"Ruka-pyon!" Mikan scolded.

"What? He deserved it."

"Yeah, Mikan, and I think Misaki-sempai would have done that later on anyway," Hotaru added gleefully, watching Tsubasa's face slowly turn green. Pulling a camera out of nowhere, she began to snap a few photos. Ruka sweatdropped. "Is Hotaru-chan back to being Hotaru-chan?"

"Not yet, Ruka-kun, but the painkillers are wearing off somewhat," Hotaru replied, pocketing the camera and pulling out a V8. Ruka sweatdropped once again and decided to simply watch the poor man go round and round and round.

"Hey guys, I brought some snacks. Oh, I see you've turned on the fan for me. Thanks for saving me the trouble."

"M-Misaki-sempai, you're not worried about Tsubasa-sempai?"

"Nope. That boy's skull is thicker than a brick wall. He'll survive."

"But –!"

"It's okay, Polka Dots, he'll come down eventually," Natsume said, smirking. "He's hanging by his clothes, isn't he? So eventually his weight will become too much and his clothes will rip, thereby causing him to fall ungraciously onto the floor."

"_WHAT?_"

"Heh."

* * *

It's already too long for my liking. Just about 15 pages on Microsoft Word does that to a person. Plus, I'm trying to make my chapters longer and longer, and 15 pages is a little tough to beat. Well, anyway, enjoy this strangely girly Hotaru.

Oh, and, to a lesser extent, Happy Halloween!

Review!

Stars of Gold


	7. Chapter 7

Not a Bubblegum Girl

By

Stars of Gold

DISCLAIMER: It was once mine, but someone stole it from me, and now it's not mine anymore. It's actually a tale of adventure, romance and slight angst, but we don't have time for that.

Chapter 7

Tsubasa finally falling down onto the floor in a pitiful heap of sad with a loud thud wrapped up the trip to Misaki and Tsubasa's. The four teens said their goodbyes and left.

"Uwaaah! That was nice," commented Mikan.

"I liked the part where that shadow freak fell on the floor," Natsume said with a smirk. "Me too," Hotaru and Ruka chorused. "Man, you guys are so mean!" Mikan pouted.

"Well, where to next?" Ruka asked absently, trying to take his puppy from Hotaru. "I-mai! Gimme her!"

"No way!"

"Oh, come on! She's mine!"

"No, I want her!"

"Hey! No fair! I raised her mother; it's only fair that I get her, too!"

"You have her mother, so let me have this one!"

"She likes me!"

"All animals like you!"

"All the more reason why I should have her!"

"No, she'll get jealous of all the time you spend with the other animals, so I should get her!"

"You'll be too busy working on inventions and money-making schemes to take care of her!"

"I can make time for anyone!"

"Tch, yeah right! How many times have you shunned Mikan-chan because of your inventions?"

"Hey, don't pull me into this!" Mikan protested. "Why don't you guys agree on a custody plan or something?" Natsume suggested, annoyed at their bickering. Mikan's eyes lit up. "Yeah! That's a great idea! You guys work out who gets the puppy on certain days! That way you don't have to fight!"

Ruka and Hotaru eyed each other. "Okay…" Ruka said slowly. "Sure, I'll do it." Hotaru shrugged. "I call Sunday!" they chorused. Eyes narrowing, they protested in unison. "No way!"

Mikan sighed. "HEY!" she called to get their attention. "What about you two spend the day together with the puppy? Then the both of you get to spend the day with the puppy."

"Okay."

"Sure."

"Good. Now who gets Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays?"

"I'm fine with that. Hotaru-chan?"

"Okay. I'll have her on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Deal?"

"Deal." And they shook on it. "Good. Now what do we name the puppy?"

There was a silence as they contemplated several names. "I know! Rukaru!" Mikan cried. The two stared at her. "Huh?"

"Ruka-pyon's name and _Ru_ from Hotaru! How about it?"

"I'm okay with that, but Hotaru-chan's pride might not let her accept that."

"I'm fine with it, thank you very much," Hotaru retorted.

"Rukaru, huh? Sounds like one of those pairings in a fan fiction," Natsume commented. (Wow, he's clairvoyant…) "What? Natsume, you spend way too much time on the computer." Mikan chided.

"Tch, whatever, Polka Dots."

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

"Whatever you say, Polka Dots."

"MY NAME IS MIKAN!"

"I know that…Polka Dots."

"ARGH!"

--

"Anna, why are we following them?"

"Because, Koko, we want to know if they like each other!"

"But I could've just used my Alice…"

"On Ruka-kun, maybe, but Natsume-kun and Hotaru-chan are sure to notice and Mikan-chan has her Nullification Alice."

"Oh, right."

"Yes, dumbass."

"You do know that I can see everything going through your mind right now, don't you?"

"Yeah, but you couldn't possibly blackmail me with anything in my head."

"'_I hope he doesn't find out about Mr. Snoogleums, my most precious teddy bear in the whole world,'_" Koko quoted, crossing his arms and looking at her pointedly. "You have a precious teddy bear?"

"It's none of your business! Stop reading my mind!"

Koko smiled innocently. "Yes, mistress. That's one of your kinky fantasies, isn't it? Someone calling you mistress? And the chair, and the whip, and – is that a _nurse_ outfit I see?"

Anna blushed like a beetroot. Suddenly, they heard people drawing near. "Oh shit, it's Ruka-kun and Imai-chan," hissed Koko urgently. Anna, thinking fast, pinned him to the ground and jammed her lips onto his.

Ruka and Hotaru came across this sight with slight disgust. "Oh, geez, get a room," Ruka said, covering the eyes of the puppy in his arms. Anna pulled away and said, "We had enough privacy until you two showed up." She was blushing, as was Koko. "Okay, sorry, we'll just be leaving now," Ruka said, rolling his eyes and turning around. "Come on, Hotaru-chan."

"Remember to use protection!" Hotaru called gleefully back towards them as she walked away with Ruka. Koko and Anna blushed a terrible shade of red. "Uh…Anna?"

"Yeah?"

He kissed her again. "Hmm," he said after breaking the kiss. "That settles it. Anna, I love you too. Will you be my girlfriend?"

"You know it." And then they found something much more interesting to do than spying on their classmates.

--

"Well, Nogi, it looks like we've managed to get those two together. Now let's go get Yuu-kun and Nonoko-chan!" Hotaru said brightly. Ruka sweatdropped. "Even as a bimbo, she never stops with the schemes," he mumbled to himself. "But I guess these schemes are much more –"

He caught sight of Hotaru scrolling through various photos in her camera, murmuring, as she did so, "In this one Koko's a bit blurry, and in this one Anna looks disfigured…"

"– selfless." He sighed. "I guess not, then."

"Come on, Ruka-kun! Let's go and lock Permy and Mochu in the same room for a few hours!"

"…Hotaru-chan, how long are those painkillers going to last?"

"Oh, they should wear off in about half an hour's time!" She cocked her head cutely. "Oh, I should take some more pills, shouldn't I?" she giggled and pulled out a bottle of oddly shaped pills.

"NO!" Ruka yelled. "I mean, let's bring them to Nonoko-san and see if she can work out any kinks!"

"Yeah! Great idea!"

She then ran off enthusiastically towards the girls' dormitories. Ruka wondered what had happened to her immense laziness for a brief moment before running after her.

"Hotaru-chan, don't run too fast! You might trip and –" She suddenly let loose a shriek, accompanied by a loud thud. "– fall." Sighing once again, he quickly made his way towards her. "Hotaru-chan, are you okay?"

She rolled over so that she was facing the sky before groaning. "Ow. I think I'll stick to the scooter." Ruka chuckled. "I take it you're alright?"

"Never better."

"Good to know. Now let's _walk_, not run, to the dorms instead. Why are we setting all these people up, anyway?"

"It's fun."

Hearing that sentence coming from Hotaru, accompanied by a wide grin, was very, very, very weird. It took all of Ruka's willpower not to stare at her weirdly. Instead, he offered her a hand, which she took, and pulled her up.

"Huh, so I was right. You're really light."

"Thanks." Hotaru flushed slightly at the compliment, but Ruka didn't notice as he checked his watch. Ten minutes had passed, and if all went well, by the time they reached the dorms, Hotaru would be back to normal. He didn't know how much more of this girly, bimbo Hotaru he could take.

"Ruka-kun?" Her voice jolted him out of his thoughts. "Sorry, what?"

"Y-You can let go of my hand now," she said timidly.

"Oh. Uh, sorry about that."

"It's no problem." Hotaru giggled. Ruka's eye twitched involuntarily. "Okay, come on, let's go."

--

Yuu sighed. Nonoko was sleeping, as she had been for the past two hours, and he hoped that when she woke up, she would be much more agreeable.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. When he opened it, he was quite surprised to see Ruka and Hotaru. "Hey, Iinchou," Ruka greeted. Hotaru merely flinched and glared at him ill temperedly.

"Ah, don't mind Hotaru-chan, her painkillers just wore off, thank God."

Hotaru switched her glaring gaze to the blonde boy beside her. "Ah…What I mean to say is that she was freaking me out, being all girly and whatnot. It was very disconcerting to see a usually stoic, emotionless blackmailer suddenly become…Mikan-chan."

"You tolerate Mikan, why not me?" Hotaru asked monotonously.

"One Sakura Mikan is enough, thanks. Plus, if you become exactly like her, you'll end up quarreling with your best friend over Natsume."

Yuu cleared his throat. "So what brings you two here?"

"We were wondering if Nonoko-san had any glitch-free painkillers."

"Ah, no, sorry. I can't even give you the tranquilizers, because I've used them all on Nonoko-chan herself."

Ruka raised an eyebrow, but didn't question it. "Okay then, I guess that our trip here was completely useless. Rukaru-chan, come!" He whistled, and a small puppy bounded towards them. Picking it up, Ruka said, "That's a good girl. Here." He handed the puppy to Hotaru, who, despite her hangover, cracked a small smile as she took the puppy from him. She'd always had a soft spot for animals.

"Say hi to the wife for us."

"Yeah, no pro – wait, what wife?"

"Oh, you know…" Ruka was being too vague for Yuu's liking. But before he could question his taller and much cooler fellow blonde, said blonde had already left after Hotaru, yelling something about custody agreements and puppies. Yuu didn't even bother trying to decipher that, and went back into Nonoko's room. _Why do I get such weird classmates?_

--

Hotaru hummed as she took her sweet time changing back into normal, completely pink free clothing, as well as removing all traces of pink and glitter on her face and replacing it with a darker shade of makeup. Ruka had walked with her all the way up to her fourth floor room only to wait outside as she changed, then, once she was done, would walk with her down to the dining hall to eat dinner.

She'd never thought it was possible for anyone to like her enough to go through so much trouble for her – Mikan, definitely, but never Hotaru. She was sorely mistaken – Ruka did. He was definitely poking a gigantic hole in all of her theories and plans about him.

Ruka was probably the nicest guy – oh, wait, the plan! She wasn't supposed to be falling for him; she was supposed to watch with a cruel disposition as she blackmailed him with pictures of him in his sorry, heartbroken state.

But was she really so heartless?

"_I don't think Ruka can handle his heart getting broken again."_

Natsume's words rang through her mind. What did he mean by that? Would Ruka break down? Would he cry? Would he commit _suicide_?

_No,_ she told herself. _No. Ruka is strong. He wouldn't commit suicide. He wouldn't resort to drugs. No, no, he wouldn't._

_Would he?_

"_And I don't think you should go through that, either."_

She took a deep breath, then opened the door to Ruka, Rukaru in hand. "Ruka-kun," she began shakily. He looked up, concerned. She cleared her throat. "Ruka-kun," she began again, this time more steadily. "I think I'll just stay and sleep off my hangover."

"Oh." He looked disappointed. "Okay. Do you want Rukaru to stay with you? Something warm and cuddly will be a comfort among all the robots you have in place of soft toys," he teased, offering Rukaru to her.

Her lips twitched up involuntarily, but she shook her head. "No. It's your turn tomorrow, anyway."

He nodded. "Okay then. Sleep tight, Hotaru-chan. I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow. Bye."

"Bye."

And then she closed the door and flung herself onto the bed, trying desperately to figure out how exactly her plan was going to work.

--

When Natsume noticed that Hotaru was missing from dinner again, he frowned, deeply troubled. Hotaru would never miss a meal for just anything, and while Ruka had claimed that she was sleeping off her hangover, Natsume highly doubted it. Hotaru was the kind of person who would try to tough something out than wait until it ends without doing anything in the mean time.

Stealthily grabbing a three star boxed dinner, he slipped it quietly into his pocket and made his way to Hotaru's room. Something must have gone wrong with that plan of hers.

--

Hotaru had fallen asleep at one point, dreaming dreams of Ruka and various morbid scenes that he might place himself into if his heart was broken once more.

"_And I don't think you should go through that, either."_

That one sentence stung her quite deeply, and she wondered just how hard it was to suffer from heartbreak.

But even if she fell in love with him, what was wrong?

…_What…?_

If he loved her, and she loved him, then…what was the problem?

…The problem is that I don't trust him with my heart. I'm…scared. Scared to love. I…don't want to be exposed so greatly. He could betray me, and…and I am not as strong as he. I would not be able to stand heartbreak. I'm not strong, I'm weak. I hide my weakness in my cold, confident outer shell…but on the inside, I'm weaker than everyone else.

She cried in her sleep, awakening to the cool feel of air as it made contact with her wet skin. She continued to cry, unable to stop.

And then there came a knock on the door. "G-Go away!" she whispered to herself, curling into a ball.

"Imai? Are you in there?"

So it was Hyuuga that came. "Go away!" she repeated, this time loud and strong, carrying her voice to the door.

"No. I can hear your blocked nose, Imai, I know you're crying."

"S-So?"

"So I can help. Listen, I'm coming in right now, whether you like it or not."

"No! Go away!"

Natsume went in anyway, and if he was surprised to see her curled up in her bed, crying for all she was worth, it didn't show on his face. He closed the door behind him and placed her dinner on a table before approaching her and sitting on her bed.

"Hey now, chin up, Imai," he said, his voice surprisingly smooth and gentle. "What's wrong? You know you can tell me anything, and I won't tell a soul."

"N-Not unless you want your secrets posted on every wall of the Academy," she choked out. Natsume rolled his eyes. "Even in the middle of a sobbing fit, she still finds time to blackmail people," he muttered to himself. Sighing, he stretched his arms and fingers. "Listen, Imai, just tell me what's up. I can't help you unless I know," he added gently.

Slowly, Hotaru choked out what she was so worried about. Natsume listened, never interrupting her.

When she had finished, he let out a deep breath. "Imai, you're very observant when it comes to things like other people's love problems. But when it comes to your own, you're as blind as a bat."

He chuckled and placed a hand on her head. "Cheer up, Imai. Don't worry so much. Sure, heartbreak is terrible, but you're not as weak as you think. Just for being able to take all the bad comments people throw about you and go about pretending that everything's alright proves that. You're so much tougher than you know, Imai.

"And as for Ruka…well, I really can't say, but I think he'll be able to get through anything, even if he falls for you and you reject him. He's tougher than that; he wouldn't do all those …things. I would never let him, and Mikan would never let him either."

He stood and stretched. "Plus, you'll never be a millionaire if you sulk all the time. Chin up, Imai. And don't forget this talk – I don't want to have to do it again."

Natsume wiped all traces of kindness and concern off of his face and tone of voice, then left her room, saying, "See you tomorrow, Imai," as he closed the door behind him.

Hotaru smiled into her pillow. _At least one of my brothers cares, _she thought._ Even if he isn't really my brother. _

She slowly drifted off to sleep in a much better mood than before.

--

Meanwhile, Natsume was tossing an apple into the air and catching it again periodically as he walked down a hallway. He often did such things to occupy himself while he thought deeply. On this particular occasion, he happened to be thinking about the relationship between his best friend and his love interest's best friend.

Being the only one who knew something was a burden, and this situation definitely counted. He knew that Ruka liked Hotaru, and he knew that Hotaru liked Ruka as well. Ruka was getting Hotaru to open up way more, and Hotaru, in turn, was trying to get Ruka to fall for her. Natsume himself, of course, knew everything, and Mikan was blissfully oblivious.

"Natsume!"

Speak of the devil. Here that little idiot comes.

"Nee, Natsume, what's up?"

"Nothing."

"Yeah? You looked like you were deep in thought."

"Really?" He was mildly surprised at her level of empathy, but passed it off as underestimation of her abilities. "I was thinking about Ruka and your supposed best friend."

"Oh, Ruka-pyon and Hotaru? What about them?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Nothing? Okay… But come to think of it, the way they've been acting is bothering me. It's almost as if they have a crush on each other…"

Natsume raised an eyebrow. He hadn't thought that Mikan's level of observation was high enough to come to that conclusion.

Mikan caught sight of his raised eyebrow. "Yeah, okay, so it sounds ridiculous. But it's possible."

"I never said it was ridiculous."

"…So you think I'm right, then?"

"Don't push it, Polka Dots. Now run along and go get some sleep. There's going to be a pop quiz in Algebra tomorrow."

"WHAT? How do you know?"

"I have my sources. 'Night."

"Goodnight! And thanks, Natsume!"

"Hn."

--

Ruka sat cross-legged on his bed, attempting to enter a peaceful state of mind. Or, in other words, trying to meditate. Unfortunately, he found himself unable to do so, as every time he slipped into a meditative state, he relaxed, and when he relaxed, he often thought deeply about anything under the sky.

Eventually he would think about puppies, which would then link to Hotaru, and for a while, he would smile peacefully – but since he was, after all, a teenage boy, his thoughts would drift into a particularly inappropriate section of his mind. He would then proceed to blush fire engine red and open his eyes rapidly, thus ruining his meditation.

This meant that he was unable to meditate, hence also unable to sleep, since he had been using meditation to enter the state of unconsciousness we call sleep since a particular incident concerning his neighbor, his neighbor's girlfriend, the sound they were making and, most probably, the spatula, whipped cream, rope and several unmentionable objects that were later found in the aforementioned neighbor's room.

Ahem.

As I was saying, Ruka was failing miserably to meditate, so he sighed and forcefully veered his thoughts away from an increasingly distracting image, instead deciding to think about everything else.

_It sure was funny when Narumi announced that he wasn't actually engaged. I'm sure Serina-sensei is happy about that – frankly, I think she has quite the crush on him. Maybe I'll get Koko to spy on them._

_Spying…that reminds me of Hota – NO!_ He shook his head furiously. One last image – the most indecent one of all that had been running through his poor male mind – presented itself to him, and he groaned. Quickly falling back onto his bed and rolling over so that he was face-down on the bed, he yelled in frustration into his pillow.

Just then, there came a knock on the door. "Oi, Ruka, it's me," came a familiar voice. Ruka sighed and went to open the door. "Hello, Natsume," he greeted.

"Hn." He walked in, kicked off his shoes, then plopped himself onto Ruka's bed. "So," he said as Ruka closed his room door. "Are you planning on telling Imai? You know, before I get killed on a mission?"

"Touch wood. But anyway, don't rush me. I love her, yeah, but, well, things don't just happen overnight. Besides, I highly doubt she returns any of my feelings, despite all the opening up she's done lately. And before that, she was really mean to me, you know, blackmailing me and everything."

Natsume sighed. "Love is truly blind."

"What? Why would you say that?"

"You're proving, right now, that blondes really are dumb. But seriously, you fell for a sadistic blackmailer who particularly chose you to torment. If that isn't blind, I don't know what is."

"Oh yeah? What about taking a look at your own situation, huh?" Ruka retorted. Natsume raised an eyebrow. "I don't have any situation to look at."

"Tch, yeah right. I seem to recall a certain New Year's Eve when you downed sixteen shots of vodka and had to be restrained by a certain strikingly familiar blonde fellow before you professed your love to Mikan-san in a cheesy, drunken and terribly inappropriate way for which she would murder you, after which you would then be pummeled by her own best friend for the same reason, who, might I add, was armed with several very large Baka Weapons at the time."

"I was drunk, I have an excuse. She's attractive, so I, in my drunken state, decided, just as many boys my age do, that I loved her. The feeling does not remain when I am sober."

"Yeah, okay, right. Then what about the time the little boy we somatic types call Cupid told us clear as day that you liked her?"

"Oh yeah, you're a somatic type. Have fun with that Permy girl? And why was that little kid with us, anyway?"

"No, Permy, as you call her, which I suppose refers to the cat-dog thing that leads our fan club, is driving me nuts. And I had to babysit that kid, everyone else was busy, and they couldn't let a little four year old run wild. Now stop changing the subject. Face it; you fell for that girl hook, line and sinker."

"Hn."

"I'll take that as a positive 'hn'. Now, come here and help me catch the spider on the wall before I accidentally crush it."

--

Nooooooo! It's shorter than the chapter before. I don't particularly like this chapter. Tell me what you think.

EGAD! The OOCness! Everyone's OOC!

Stars of Gold


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